TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 138

One hundred and thirty eight

Lisa POV

The discharge papers felt heavy in my hand.

I smoothed the wrinkled sheets against my thigh, desperate to leave the smell of bleach and sickness behind. My mom was already packing my small overnight bag.

The door pushed open with a sharp click. A man in a white coat stepped inside, but he didn’t have the heavy tread of the senior consultant. He moved with a light bounce in his step, his stethoscope swinging against his chest.

Dr. Harry. He looked young, his skin clear and his dark brown hair cropped close in a style that felt too trendy for a high-risk ward. He spoke with a rapid-fire clip, clicking a silver pen incessantly.

“I’ll be taking over your case now that you’re being discharged,” he said, pulling a rolling stool toward the bed. We’ll keep everything tight from here. No loose ends.”

I stared at him, my fingers tightening on the guardrail of the bed. He looked like he hadn’t yet seen the kind of emergencies that broke a person. I looked toward the door, half-expecting my regular doctor to reappear and tell me this was a mistake.

Harry didn’t seem to notice my hesitation. He tapped his tablet screen and began to recite the discharge protocol.

“The baby is stable. That’s the absolute priority. Your vitals have leveled out and are back within a safe range, but we don’t relax yet. This is a managed recovery.” He looked up, his eyes sharp despite his youthful face. “You’ll come back in three days for a full panel. If you feel a cramp, a headache, or even a slight change in your vision before then, you call this number. You don’t wait for the morning. No delays.”

He stood up and pressed two fingers against my wrist, checking my pulse while staring at his watch.

“How have you been sleeping?” he asked.

“Fine,” I said.

“Any sudden stress spikes? Anxiety, physical discomfort, anything that feels different from your normal baseline?”

“I’m okay.”

He stopped and held my gaze, the breeziness dropping for a second. “You don’t have to filter your answers for me, Lisa. I need accuracy to keep you safe. If you feel a flutter of panic, I need to know.”

“I said I’m okay,” I repeated, pulling my hand away.

He gave a small, knowing smile and scribbled a note on his digital chart. “I know this situation is not simple. You’re carrying under conditions that require more attention than a standard pregnancy.”

I stayed silent. He didn’t use the word “surrogate,” but it hung in the air between us. He likely knew the rumors- the girl who was supposed to be a walking womb but had managed to tangle her heart in the Alpha’s life.

“I’ll be your sole point of contact from now on,” he added, tucking the tablet under his arm. “All updates, labs, and emergencies go through me.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility for one person,” I said.

“I can handle it,” he replied.

1/4

hundred and thirty night

+15 8gnus

We walked toward the hospital exit. The linoleum gave way to the heavy floor mats of the lobby. Harry stopped at the glass doors and handed a sealed, silver-foil pack to my mother. The plastic was thick, the edges heat-pressed to ensure it hadn’t been tampered with.

“These are your medications,” he said, his voice dropping. “Don’t break that seal until you are in your room and ready to take the dose. If the plastic looks punctured or the seal is loose, you call me immediately.”

My mother gripped the pack, her knuckles white. “Thank you, Doctor. Truly.”

“I’ll check in before the next appointment,” he said, giving me one last look. “Try to rest. Your body needs to catch up.”

The automatic doors slid open with a hiss. The air outside hit me like a physical force. It wasn’t scrubbed clean of scent; it smelled of damp pavement, exhaust, and turning leaves. I took a deep breath, feeling the disinfectant leave my lungs. For a moment, my body felt weightless, as if the heavy iron bars of the hospital had finally vanished.

Two of Cameron’s guards stood by a black SUV. They were statues in suits. One moved forward to take the bag from my mother, while the other held the rear door open with a gloved hand. I slid into the leather seat, the door shutting with a heavy, pressurized thud that cut off the noise of the street.

The drive back to the estate was quiet. When we arrived, the guards stepped out with synchronized movements. One took the bag toward the house, while the other gave me a stiff, professional nod.

“Welcome back, Miss.”

My mother didn’t linger. She walked toward the grand staircase, her heels clicking rapidly on the marble.

“Have you heard from Franklin?” I asked, my voice echoing in the foyer.

She slowed down, her hand gripping the banister. She turned back, her face clouded. “He called earlier, while the nurses were removing your IV. He wanted to meet us here, but he was told he needed official clearance first.”

“Clearance? For what? This is his home too,” I said, stepping closer to her.

“Cameron has to approve any visitors to this wing,” she said. “Including Franklin.”

I stared at her, the phantom itch of the IV site returning to my wrist. “Approve Franklin? That makes no sense. Cameron knows he is the one person I trust completely. Why would he block him?”

“I don’t think it’s about a block, Lisa,” she said softly. “It may be about control. Keeping the circle tight.”

“Control over what? Franklin is the only one actually digging for the truth about the vitamins. If anyone can find out who poisoned me, it’s him.”

She looked away, her gaze landing on a portrait down the hall. “Maybe that is exactly the problem.”

I turned toward the large windows. Cameron was a man of logic. He didn’t move pieces on a board just to be difficult. If he was isolating me from Franklin, it was a tactical decision. That thought made a cold knot form in my stomach.

“This feels like he’s putting distance where there shouldn’t be any,” I muttered.

My mother nodded slowly. “Franklin will either respect the boundary or he will find a way around it. You know how he is. Let’s not jump to conclusions. I’ll speak to Alpha Kieran later. He can get a straight answer from Cameron.”

2/4

One hundred and maty eight

+15 Bonus

I nodded, but the unrest remained. I went to my room and tried to call Franklin’s personal line. The call didn’t even ring; it went straight to a generic recording.

I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the phone. Suddenly, it vibrated in my palm. Cameron’s name flashed across the screen in bold letters. I watched the light pulse against my skin until the call timed out.

A text message appeared a second later. I saw the first few words on the preview: *Lisa, we need to talk about the care plan-* I didn’t open it.

“Who was that?” my mother asked, standing in the doorway with a glass of water.

“It’s Cameron,” I said.

She paused, the glass mid-air. “And you’re just letting it ring?”

“Why should I pick up? He won’t let me talk to Franklin, but he wants to check in on his ‘care plan’?”

She walked over and sat beside me. “You should take the call. He is under immense pressure with Evangeline’s relapse. He might not be seeing the full picture from the clinic. When he comes back, things will settle.”

I didn’t answer. My nails dug into the soft fabric of the mattress. I tried Franklin again. Nothing. I tried a second time, my heart racing with a mix of anger and worry. Still no connection.

Then Cameron’s name lit up the screen again.

My mother reached out and took the phone from my hand. “Give it to me. I’ll talk to him.”

I didn’t argue. I stood up and walked into the hallway, my bare feet silent on the rug. I didn’t want to hear his voice or hear my mother make excuses for me. I leaned against the cold wall outside the door and closed my eyes. I didn’t hate him, but the walls he was building felt less like protection and more like a cage. I had allowed myself to believe that our connection meant he would treat me as a partner. Now, I felt like an asset being moved into a secure vault.

That night, I curled around a pillow, staring at the shadows of the trees dancing on the wall. Sleep was a series of shallow, interrupted dreams.

The change was evident the next morning. My breakfast arrived in heavy plastic containers with red security tabs. My mother had to snap the tamper-proof locks to get the lids off. Every piece of fruit had been washed in filtered water she poured herself. The guards stood at the end of the hallway, their shadows visible under the door.

Alpha Kieran arrived just before noon. Franklin was right behind him, his face set in a hard, grim mask. The moment they entered the sitting room, I stood up.

“What happened?” I asked, looking at Franklin. “Why didn’t you answer? Did you and Cameron have a falling out?”

Franklin looked at Kieran, then back at me. “It isn’t a fight. Not exactly.” He paused, his jaw working. “He just doesn’t trust me enough to let me finish the investigation.”

“That isn’t a fair assessment,” Alpha Kieran said, sitting down in a high-backed armchair. “Cameron is dealing with a lack of evidence. He won’t act on mere suspicion while his mate is in surgery.”

Franklin let out a short, angry breath. “I built the security detail for this entire estate. I wrote the protocols he’s using right now. And now I need a signed pass to step into a house I secured? That isn’t caution. That’s him locking me out of the only room that matters.”

Kieran watched him with a steady gaze. “Is this lockout for everything, or just her?”

3/4

nded and thirty t

+15 Benus

“Just Lisa,” Franklin said. “The rest of the business is functioning as usual.”

Kieran nodded slowly. “Then he is containing a variable. He wants to keep the environment controlled until he returns.” He turned to me. “Your concern is valid, Lisa. But fear spreads faster than a virus. If he lets Franklin chase ghosts without proof, it creates a panic that serves no one.”

Franklin’s hands balled into fists. “Something was done to her. Those vitamins didn’t change themselves.”

“And when you have a name and a face to go with that theory,” Kieran said, “you will have a bridge to cross. Until then, you are just shaking the hive.”

Franklin held the older man’s gaze for a long beat, then looked away. “Desmond beat Nadia.”

The air left the room. I felt the blood drain from my face. “What?”

Kieran’s eyes narrowed, his posture stiffening. “Do you have proof of that?”

“I have seen the marks,” Franklin said. “I have the beginning of a trail. More is coming.”

“And how is she?” my mother asked, her voice trembling.

“She is holding together,” Franklin said.

Kieran folded his hands over his knee. “Desmond is a powerful man. His family name protects him unless this is made public and undeniable. If you strike at him without a mountain of evidence, he will crush her reputation to save his own.” He looked at Franklin with a new intensity. “Bring me something solid. If it holds up, I will handle the fallout. She won’t be left to drown. Cameron needs to be told.”

“He will know the second he lands,” Franklin said.

“When is that?” I asked.

“Two days,” Franklin replied.

The thought of Cameron’s return made my pulse spike-part relief, part dread.

My mother moved toward the dining table, carrying a tray of covered dishes. “Let’s sit,” she said, her voice shaky

but determined. “We won’t fix a broken world on an empty stomach. Sit down, all of you.”

日

Comments

ப